Site Roadmap & Improvements

This document tracks planned improvements and enhancements for dekker.dev.

✅ Recently Completed (September 2025)

• Add structured data (JSON-LD) for better SEO
• Create Contact page with professional contact methods
• Create Speaking/Talks page showcasing presentation history
• Improve mobile navigation with responsive design
• Enhance CSS with typography scale and spacing variables
• Redesign blog index with post previews and reading time
• Add performance optimizations (resource hints, DNS prefetch)
• Update navigation to include new pages
• Improve head.html with better meta tags
• Update Google Analytics placeholder to GA4 format

🚀 Immediate Actions (1-2 days)

High Priority

• Replace Google Analytics with GoatCounter (free alternative)
• Write 2-3 new blog posts:
  • “Platform Engineering at Scale: Lessons from 8,000+ Engineers”
  • “Innovation in Banking: Navigating Regulatory Constraints”
  • “Golden Paths: Reducing Cognitive Load for Developers”

Medium Priority

• Add mobile menu toggle JavaScript functionality
• Test and fix any mobile navigation issues
• Optimize images (compress profile.jpg, add proper alt tags)

📈 Short-term Goals (1-2 weeks)

Content & Pages

• Create detailed project case studies:
  • EngineersHub: Internal Developer Portal journey
  • Account Data Store: First cloud solution at Rabobank
  • Cylon ML team: AI/ML pioneering experience
• Create dedicated About page (move content from homepage)
• Add testimonials or recommendations section
• Create a Projects gallery page

Technical Improvements

• Add social sharing buttons to blog posts
• Implement RSS feed improvements (better descriptions)
• Add reading progress indicator for blog posts
• Improve blog post layout (table of contents for long posts)
• Add “Related Posts” suggestions
• Implement basic search functionality for blog

SEO & Performance

• Add Open Graph images for better social sharing
• Implement lazy loading for images
• Add breadcrumb navigation
• Create XML sitemap enhancements
• Add proper error pages (404, etc.)

🎯 Medium-term Vision (1 month)

User Experience

• Add dark/light mode toggle (currently auto-only)
• Implement smooth scroll animations
• Add loading states and micro-interactions
• Create a newsletter signup form
• Add comments system (GitHub Discussions integration?)

Content Strategy

• Establish regular blogging schedule (monthly?)
• Create content series:
  • “Platform Engineering Patterns” series
  • “Innovation in Large Organizations” series
  • “Developer Experience Deep Dives” series
• Add case study templates for consistent formatting
• Create speaking/workshop materials repository

Technical Excellence

• Add automated testing (link checking, HTML validation)
• Implement CSS and JS minification
• Add Progressive Web App features
• Improve accessibility (ARIA labels, keyboard navigation)
• Add analytics dashboard integration
• Performance budget monitoring

🔮 Long-term Ideas (3+ months)

Advanced Features

• Interactive timeline of career journey
• Speaking calendar integration
• Portfolio project demos or screenshots
• Integration with external APIs (GitHub stats, etc.)
• Multi-language support (Dutch/English?)

Content Expansion

• Video content or embedded presentations
• Podcast appearances section
• Book or resource recommendations
• Industry insights dashboard
• Community contributions showcase

Platform & Distribution

• Email newsletter automation
• Cross-posting to LinkedIn/Medium
• Speaker bureau profile integration
• Conference talk proposal templates
• Workshop materials and downloads

📊 Success Metrics

Traffic & Engagement

• Set up GA4 with proper goals
• Monitor blog post engagement
• Track speaking inquiry conversions
• Measure social media referrals

Content Performance

• Blog post view duration
• Most popular content topics
• Speaking page interaction rates
• Contact form submissions

Technical Performance

• Page load speed monitoring
• Mobile usability scores
• SEO ranking improvements
• Accessibility compliance scores

🎨 Design Considerations

Visual Improvements

• Custom illustrations or graphics
• Consistent icon system
• Enhanced typography (custom font stack?)
• Better use of whitespace and visual hierarchy
• Print stylesheet for resume/articles

Brand Development

• Personal logo or mark design
• Consistent color scheme documentation
• Brand voice and tone guidelines
• Social media templates
• Business card/presentation template alignment

📝 Notes

Content Ideas Bank

• Platform Engineering ROI measurement
• Developer productivity metrics that matter
• Innovation adoption in regulated industries
• The human side of technical transformation
• Building consensus in large organizations
• Lessons from 20+ years in software engineering

Technical Debt

• Clean up unused CSS classes
• Consolidate similar styling patterns
• Improve semantic HTML structure
• Add proper TypeScript for any JavaScript
• Review and optimize Jekyll build performance